Spills pollute Mexican rivers
Workers from a company outsourced by Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex try to remove fuel from the water after a pipeline spill of premium gasoline contaminated the Hondo River near the town of Tierra Blanca, southern Mexico, Aug. 31, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
Dead turtles float in the water after a pipeline spill of premium gasoline contaminated the Hondo river near the town of Tierra Blanca, southern Mexico, Aug. 31, 2014.
According to Pemex, the spill was caused by an illegal tap in the pipeline by criminals trying to steal fuel.
Mexican thieves cause spills
Workers from a company outsourced by Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex try to remove fuel after a pipeline spill of premium gasoline contaminated the Hondo river near the town of Tierra Blanca, southern Mexico, Aug. 31, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
A worker uses a shovel to row through leaked oil on the San Juan river in Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Aug. 22, 2014.
The oil pipeline spill that contaminated a river in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon will take months to clean up, the country's top water authority said. The 24-inch Madero-Cadereyta pipeline, owned by national oil company Pemex, was ruptured when thieves attempted to tap into it in mid-August.
David Korenfeld, head of Mexico's national water commission, said that residents near the contaminated parts of the river, located about 25 miles from the state capital of Monterrey, were advised not to consume the water.
Mexican thieves cause spills
Oil-stained tail feathers of a dead bird are seen on the banks of San Juan river after an oil spill in Cadereyta Aug. 26, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
A bird covered in spilled oil perches on the banks of the San Juan river in Cadereyta Aug. 26, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
The sun is reflected in leaked oil on the shores of an irrigation canal that flows into the river San Juan in Cadereyta Aug. 22, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
Workers navigate near containment booms while trying to clean the river San Juan from leaked oil in Cadereyta Aug. 22, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
Workers take a break while trying to clean the river San Juan from leaked oil in Cadereyta Aug. 22, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
A dying bird covered in spilled oil lies on a rock on the banks of the San Juan river in Cadereyta, Mexico, Aug. 26, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
A dead dragonfly, covered in oil, lies on the shore of an irrigation canal that flows into the river San Juan in Cadereyta Aug.22, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
A bird covered in oil stretches its wings on the shores of the river San Juan in Cadereyta Aug. 21, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
The reflection of a worker is seen in leaked oil as he tries to recover the oil from the shores of the river San Juan in Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Aug. 21, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
Workers pour oil into containers while trying to clean the river San Juan from leaked oil in Cadereyta, Mexico, Aug. 22, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
Workers try to clean up leaking oil at a stream in Cadereyta Aug. 21, 2014.
Mexican thieves cause spills
Workers try to clean up leaking oil at a stream in Cadereyta Aug. 21, 2014.